U.S. Considers Food Labels With Whole-Package Data

By SHERRI DAY

Published: November 21, 2003

The Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that it was considering whether to require food companies to list nutrition information in its entirety, rather than by serving size, on packaged-food labels.

Currently, if a package contains more than one serving, consumers must multiply nutrition data by the number of servings to determine total calories, fat and carbohydrates. Some consumer groups and nutritionists have argued that such food labels are misleading and could cause consumers to take in more calories, sodium and fat than they realize. Now, it seems, the F.D.A. may agree.

''Even though people do have math skills, it's unfair to ask them to do mathematical calculations while they're shopping,'' Peter J. Pitts, the F.D.A.'s associate commissioner for external relations, said yesterday. ''Our goal is to help people improve their health. It shouldn't be a math test.''

The potential change in the composition of food labels, which was reported yesterday in The Wall Street Journal, was among the topics that F.D.A. officials and representatives from the food industry discussed yesterday at a workshop the agency held to explore any links between obesity, food labels and packaging.

The F.D.A. has been looking at ways to improve food labels since August, when Mark B. McClellan, the head of the agency, commissioned a task force to come up with ways to help address obesity. The committee is expected to issue its suggestions in February.

Nutrition experts have also said that the F.D.A.'s guidelines on serving size are outdated. The F.D.A. has no immediate plans to change those rules.

Food manufacturers, who have contended that nutrition labels provide consumers with adequate information, had a lukewarm response to the idea of altering them to reflect nutrition totals.

''We don't know that that's necessary,'' said Michael Diegel, a spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, a trade group that represents food companies. ''It may, in fact, not clear up anything.''

Mr. Diegel said the group was conducting its own study to determine what companies could do to make labels clearer.